Hot Rods

We still love Lucy, pedal-pushers and Harley-Davidsons. Now thundering, clattering, kandy-colored and tangerine-flake hot rods are joining our endless fascination with the `50s. At this year`s National Street Rod Association show, more than 13,000 hot rods arrived to flatten Louisville`s bluegrass beneath fat slicks. Once the sport of street kings of Bakersfield, Calif., hot-rod passes are rattling the mock Tudors and antebellum replicas of Beverly Hills. "Older people are getting into it now, people with more disposable income," explains Jeff Smith, editor of Hot Rod magazine.

From beloved Volkswagen Beetles to luxury Bentleys and convertibles, the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company says it has a vehicle for every enthusiast and wallet. The famous classic and luxury car auction comes April 4 to 6 to the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach, the 11th year for the Barrett-Jackson auction in the area. The Scottsdale, Ariz., company said it is is bringing about 400 classic cars, exotic vehicles, muscle cars, hot rods and contemporary convertibles. "We'll have cars that will bring in under $10,000 to a Learjet that will be north of seven figures," said Steve Davis, chief executive of Barrett-Jackson.

From beloved Volkswagen Beetles to luxury Bentleys and convertibles, the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company says it has a vehicle for every enthusiast and wallet. The famous classic and luxury car auction comes April 4 to 6 to the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach, the 11th year for the Barrett-Jackson auction in the area. The Scottsdale, Ariz., company said it is is bringing about 400 classic cars, exotic vehicles, muscle cars, hot rods and contemporary convertibles. "We'll have cars that will bring in under $10,000 to a Learjet that will be north of seven figures," said Steve Davis, chief executive of Barrett-Jackson.

Looking for some hot wheels? Barrett-Jackson's car auction is rolling into South Florida for its 11th annual event on April 4-6 at the South Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach. About 400 cars - from exotics and classics to muscle and hot rods - will be up for sale, and they range in age as they do in brands - from American and Italian to French and British. Among those up for grabs: a 1964 Chevrolet El Camino, 1970 Volkswagen Beetle, 1973 Dodge Dart Sport and 1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. There will also be trucks such as a 1950 Chevrolet 3100 Custom Pickup and a 1987 Chevrolet Silverado.

As the members of the Hot Rods fishing team can painfully attest, tournament preparation begins with filling out the entry form properly. Albert Castro, Jeff Archer and Rob Ruwitch caught the second-highest number of sailfish in the Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament, totaling 11 releases for the three-day tournament, which concluded Sunday. Contender One won the tournament with 18 sailfish. But because Hot Rods was not entered in the team division, the only award its crew walked away with was for the top club title.

For the first two days of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club's 64th annual Silver Sailfish Derby, the anglers on Hot Rods were kicking themselves. On Sunday afternoon at Sailfish Marina, Albert Castro, Jeff Archer and Rob Ruwitch were pinching themselves. After catching a total of one sailfish the first two days, the three Miami men caught and released 15 sailfish Sunday to capture the Derby's Top Boat Trophy in dramatic fashion. "No way!" said Archer when informed of the one-fish victory at the Sailfish Marina fuel dock.

As a champion drag racer, Darrell Gwynn was unstoppable. Despite a devastating accident during a 1990 test run that left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair, Gwynn hasn't slowed down. A National Hot Rod Association world champion with 28 NHRA national event victories and a member of the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, Gwynn also oversaw a successful race team. He now keeps busy running the Darrell Gwynn Foundation (Darrellgwynnfoundation.org), a nonprofit that Gwynn started in 2002.

Until last month, photographer Brooke Trace spent every morning for a year jogging along A1A, often snapping images of Fort Lauderdale's "100" sculpture near Las Olas Boulevard. With her Nikon, she would capture the piece, which marked the city's centennial in 2011, under the purplish glow of daybreak, during crowded Saturdays on the beach and on the day it was dismantled. Trace harvested each digital shot - she says she snapped "hundreds" - into a photo collage that she intends to present to Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler Saturday evening during the city's third annual Great American Beach Party.

The Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the Boynton Beach Holiday Car Show and Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundayat Bethesda Health City. More than 40 trophies will be awarded in various categories including classics, vintage, trucks and hot rods. Food and entertainment will be provided. For information, call 561-732-9501.

J.R. and Amanda Linton united in marriage on Halloween, 2008, as perhaps South Florida's leading power couple of gloriously lowbrow culture. On Saturday, they will take things up a notch with the grand-opening party for their new collaboration: Ink and Pistons Tattoo Shop and Art Gallery (2716 S. Dixie Highway, No. 101, West Palm Beach). J.R., the tattoo artist best known for his celebration of pinups and hot rods at Hellcat Tattoos, is set up in the front of the 2,500-square-foot space, where he'll work alongside other popular South Florida artists, namely Chris Rude and Lea Vendetta (formerly of Spike TV's “Ink Master”)

Until last month, photographer Brooke Trace spent every morning for a year jogging along A1A, often snapping images of Fort Lauderdale's "100" sculpture near Las Olas Boulevard. With her Nikon, she would capture the piece, which marked the city's centennial in 2011, under the purplish glow of daybreak, during crowded Saturdays on the beach and on the day it was dismantled. Trace harvested each digital shot - she says she snapped "hundreds" - into a photo collage that she intends to present to Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler Saturday evening during the city's third annual Great American Beach Party.

As a champion drag racer, Darrell Gwynn was unstoppable. Despite a devastating accident during a 1990 test run that left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair, Gwynn hasn't slowed down. A National Hot Rod Association world champion with 28 NHRA national event victories and a member of the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, Gwynn also oversaw a successful race team. He now keeps busy running the Darrell Gwynn Foundation (Darrellgwynnfoundation.org), a nonprofit that Gwynn started in 2002.

Sitting on the empty drag strip at Moroso Motorsports Park, "Dyno" Dave Heitzman thought about the Jet Funny Car that racer Christopher Gould was driving when he was killed Sunday along this track. Gould's Funny Car looked like a car but had a jet engine and ran on jet fuel. Heitzman's Top Alcohol dragster, a 36-foot elongated triangle sitting low to the ground, runs on nitro-methane with a car engine. Both go from zero to 300 mph in seconds, both finish their races before most people take a deep breath, and both defy gravity so dramatically that when the race is over, they need a parachute to stop.

At 28, Andy Samberg has been called the next Will Ferrell and compared to Adam Sandler, but the best description might be Saturday Night Live's ambassador to the YouTube generation. Writer-performer Samberg caught the producers' attention with homemade material posted on the Web site of the Lonely Island, the comedy troupe he launched in 2001 with high school buds Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. The team's loopy music video parodies starring Samberg inspired unprecedented Internet buzz for SNL. Lazy Sunday (a rap tribute to such geeky white-guy treats as Mr. Pibb, Google Maps and The Chronicles of Narnia)

More than 550 custom cars, trucks, motorcycles and hot rods will be featured at the 18th annual Boys & Girls Clubs Autorama Custom Car Show on Sunday in West Palm Beach. The show is scheduled from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Dreher Park North, off Summit Boulevard in West Palm Beach. The show also will feature a children's fun park with amusement rides, clowns, face painting and a special appearance by Batman. There also will be an arts and crafts pavilion, country music line dancing exhibitions and dance contests.

The giant floats found in Macy`s Thanksgiving Day parades were absent, and the sounds of John Philip Sousa`s marches did not fill the air. Instead, the 15th annual Roots Cultural Festival parade in Delray Beach on Friday showed off the black youth of the community. There were marching children, children riding in little motorized cars and teens dancing to hip- hop music on top of a truck. "It`s good they showed off the kids," said Charles Grant Jr., 11. "We do play a role in the black community."

Mike Scott and Bob Nichols are the odd couple of fund raising. This weekend, Scott's annual Classic Car Show will benefit Nichols' Grassy Waters Nature Preserve. Billed as South Florida's biggest car show, the event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Dreher Park in West Palm Beach. The idea for the unlikely collaboration began during a conversation at Nichols' booth at the South Florida Fair. Scott started the show 30 years ago to benefit local charities and Nichols was in need of fund raising for future expansions.

The Belgian-style round waffles, pancakes and omelets are hot items on the menu. But it's really the hundreds of miniature cars, trucks, and buses in glass-enclosed cabinets and the photographs lining the walls that draw the most attention at the renewed Waffleworks restaurant/car museum, 3265 Hollywood Blvd. "My customers go crazy when they see the cars," said Sergio Goldvarg, of Weston, owner of the heavily auto-themed restaurant. "Seventy percent of the customers, especially those on the weekend, know my name and they ask for me. I spend more time on the weekend with customers answering questions about cars than anything else."